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Not a Lost Art: Dining Aboard In Europe

By BRUCE E. WOELFEL; BRUCE E. WOELFEL, who lives in Aptos, Calif., is the author of ''Gourmet Express: A Guide to European Railway Dining,'' to be published next spring by Hippocrene Books.

Published: March 26, 1989

OUR trip to Paris last August began at the modern Chaumartin Station in Madrid, all shining marble and concealed lights. We were about to board an overnight train - the Paris-Madrid Talgo. Down an escalator from the crowded waiting room we found it, long and low, the words Talgo Pendular on its sides. Good looks were of only passing interest; what was most important was that this train carried a restaurant car.

To a train lover there are few experiences as pleasurable as dining aboard. And this dining car, if appearances were a guide, would not disappoint. Tables lighted by cut-glass lamps were set with white cloths edged with blue stripes. Matching plates were complete with the WL logo, for the International Catering Company Wagon-Lits. There were flowers, albeit artifical, at each place and two wine glasses.

Luggage stowed in our immaculate sleeping compartment, we moved to the bar car for a drink before departure. As a white-coated waiter served us, we had a view into the adjoining kitchen where the chef and an assistant sliced beef and cut potatoes.

Soon after the Talgo moved out of the station and into the suburbs, we sat at a table for two and were served the first course, gaspacho. It was the first sitting for dinner, and the chef had been busy with our order as well as omelets and other short orders that were being eaten in the bar. Salad came next: smoked salmon with asparagus, artichokes and cold potatoes in mayonnaise.

We opened a half bottle of Spanish red wine as plates were cleared and fresh warm plates placed in front of us with steak and chive butter. A selection of cheeses and fresh rolls arrived next, followed by chocolate cake with cocoa icing. Demitasse came last, as we contemplated a view of black clouds above a sunlit fortified hilltop city.

After dinner we moved back to the bar for brandy and conversation with an Argentine woman whom we had met and, as it turned out, an acquaintance of the writer Jorge Borges, greatly admired by my wife. As we conversed, I watched the rocky landscape in the fading light: clumps of hills, crumbling ruins atop them and black boulders strewn all over. We dodged in and out of tunnels as we climbed through the steep terrain. When the long summer evening finally ended and we moved to our compartment, lulled by the fine meal and civilized surroundings, we were ready for sleep.

The experience was a rare one, for aside from two Talgos (Paris-Madrid and Paris-Barcelona), most overnight European trains do not carry restaurant cars. But dining aboard can be nearly as pleasurable when it is not followed by a night on the same train.

Opportunities exist in West Germany, Switzerland and England, all of which run frequent fast trains with restaurant cars on many routes. Similar services also exist in Sweden between Goteborg and Stockholm and in Austria between Innsbruck and Vienna. Restaurant cars can be found on most Eurocity trains between other major cities. Some French, Belgian and Italian restaurant car services still operate, notably between Paris and Brussels and Rome and Milan. But the situation is constantly changing, as more and more high-speed trains without full meal service are put in operation.

Herewith, some trains with fine dining that I've experienced in the past few years: ETOILE DU NORD: Amsterdam to Paris

At Brussels Midi during a 10-minute stop from Amsterdam, the rear half of the train was detached and two kitchens and two dining cars were moved in between. Preparations for a major meal were under way: huge mounds of potatoes were being washed and peeled; slices of lamb were being cut; lettuce and other salad fixings were being prepared. Tables were being set: linen tablecloths, silverware, flowers, glassware. On folding tables in other coaches more settings were in progress. Activities commenced before the cars were hooked to the train, as wine, liquor, ice, bread and fruit and cheese were loaded.

As we pulled out of Brussels, the feast began with beverages served from a cart filled with small bottles of whisky and aperitifs, ice and Perrier water. The first course was aile de raie au beurre noir (skate wings with black butter). As that course was cleared away, warm plates preceded the main course, presented on serving trays. There was a choice of duck in raspberry sauce or pan-fried lamb chop flavored with thyme. Another waiter followed with vegetables: potatoes lyonnaise and lettuce cooked in herbs, skillfully arranged on the plate while we were seemingly flying low through the green fields of Belgium, gliding along on silken smooth tracks.

Next came a large plate of cheeses and a fresh supply of rolls. More wine was offered. The choice for dessert was apricot tart or strawberry melba. Then the drink cart arrived again, loaded with liqueurs and brandies. Coffee was served as we passed through the outlying districts of Paris before arriving at Paris Nord Station just as the headwaiter came down the aisle with a box of change to collect for the meal (roughly $80 for two without wine and service charge). Etoile du Nord, Eurocity 82/87. Leaves Amsterdam daily at 8:53 A.M., stops in Brussels Midi at 11:37 A.M. and arrives in Paris Nord at 2:15 P.M. The return trip leaves Paris Nord at 6:44 P.M., stops in Brussels Midi at 9:11 P.M. and reaches Amsterdam at 12:03 A.M. AARLBERG EXPRESS: Paris to Vienna